OMB

The Administration has no objection to House passage of H.R. 1703, which is
consistent with ongoing efforts within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
to revise its system of processing and adjudicating employment discrimination
claims. The Administration, however, believes that the bill's requirement for
a six-member panel to review VA's procedures for handling equal employment
opportunity and harassment issues will be costly and duplicative of activities
that VA already has underway. The Administration will work in the Senate to
modify H.R. 1703 to address this concern.